


The Hill You Choose

by SunKissedLibra



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Character Development, Female Character of Color, Friendship, High School, Multi, Musicians, Orphans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 03:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18065690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunKissedLibra/pseuds/SunKissedLibra
Summary: Victoria must wait until her 21st birthday to recieve the money left to her in a trust after the death of her parents. Since their passing, she has been living with friends of her parents, and their growing family, as they are just starting to get into the Big Money game in England, but she has struggled to properly develop the social skills needed to avoid starting fights over social matters that she has no control over, or deeper understanding of.Being older, and unable to access her funds, Lori, her best friend and practically sister, has convinced her to make a trip out to Japan to join an "Upscale Private Academy," to finish their education. The trick is, for the first time ever the two are in separate classes. Now, Lori can get a break from Vikki and her spitfire attitude. However, leaving the short tempered ginger with too much time on her hands will likely prove difficult on their friendship. At least, from Victoria's point of view. Above that, Lori conveniently left out some of the details in which they were given permission to study abroad.





	The Hill You Choose

Victoria was daydreaming, her head leaning against the warm glass of of the bus window. The buildings passed by with a blurriness that made it all dizzying. She was excited to move to Japan with Lori, but she was entirely at her friend’s mercy, and she wasn’t entirely certain she would survive the entirety of her high school career in Japan without her playstation.

She glanced down at her lap, her oversized sleeves covering her now dead DS.

Lori leaned over and poked the freckled girl with a carefully manicured nail. “Vikki~! Why don’t you smile? It’s an adventure!”

Victoria gave Lori a sharp glance. “Oof! No need to be nasty about it! Why do you look so blue, is it really that bad to be without your playstation?”

After a long pause, Victoria mumbled. “My DS died, and it’s been dead for like… six or so hours.”

And then Lori stared at her like she’d grown three heads. “Really? That’s why you look so grouchy?” The girl laughed. “Girl, why didn’t you just say so? I have a spare battery!” She pulled out an energy bank, and handed it to Victoria, who quickly swiped it, and plugged her handheld device in. The posture almost reminded Lori of Smeagle.

“You… Are you gonna be good?”

“My precious~!” Victoria hissed, earning a slap to the back from Lori, who was laughing again, perhaps too loud for the Japanese folk who were sharing the bus with them. Nobody said anything, but the aura that hung in the air was suddenly thick enough to cut.

Lori cleared her throat. Victoria turned to see what was the matter, only to sit properly on her backside once more, face red with embarrassment. She apologized under her breath, as did Lori, and then all was more or less silent on the bus.

A brunette stepped closer to the foreign girls, and in the best English she could manage, told them they were okay, and she doesn’t think they were being rude, but Lori had been the only one paying attention. Victoria, on the other hand, was staring out the window again. The sun was setting, and they still had two more stops before their own, and she couldn’t wait to get a reliable charge on her phone.

Once they arrived, the walk to the building was short. The girls pointed out tiny things that were good markers, things they wanted to do nearby, places to eat, but more importantly, Victoria saw something vitally important, though it looked like it was getting cleaned up for the night. Lori had to backtrack to find her flaming haired friend, staring into the front window of a small arcade, that included an entire GATCHA section. “Girl, don’t you dare spend what little money you have--”

“I won’t!” Vikki defended immediately, hair all but bristling at the accusation.

Lori put her hands on her hips, and gave her a look, which earned a small pout. “Okay… Can I have an allowance though? Pah-leeeeeease?” she begged, hands clasped in front of her as she bent to be at Lori’s eye-level. “Pleasepleasepleeeeeeeease~?”

Lori merely rolled her eyes and turned away. “We’ll see, brat. Now let’s go, or I’ll leave you to get gobbled up by some street sweeper or something, beanpole.”

“H-Hey! I’m not a beanpole! And… Does… Does Japan even have street sweepers?”

Lori stopped, mid stride. After a pause, she turned with breakneck speed, and pointed at Victoria. “You know what? How about you shut your trap, you know what I meant!” She looked mad, but Victoria had known Lori for years. She was just playing.

“Fine!” With a groan, she crossed her arms and began following Lori closely again.

Once at the apartment, both girls stopped again, confused. Did… Did they look for the landlord? It was nearly eight at night, local time, and they had no key, and no clue how to get to their apartment.

Before they could stand there any longer, and potentially make themselves look even more out of place, a tall man-- one far taller than anyone else they had seen in Japan thus far, approached, asking the two if they could be helped.

“We-- We have a large flat somewhere in this building. We paid the deposit, but we don’t know who to speak to--” Lori stuttered out quickly, clumsily. The man looked confused, before Lori repeated herself in rather elementary Japanese, at which point he laughed.

“I wasn’t aware you would be coming this late! Let me turn on your gas and water, and then I will give you the key.”

He was speaking to both of them, but once again, Victoria was barely paying attention. Instead, she was looking around at the architecture. She was surprised to find it so modern, and almost western in theme. More so than England. Was it.. American perhaps? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it--

Victoria practically ran Lori over, as she’d stopped. “Did you hear me Vikki?”

“What?”

“He’s going to lend us an adapter for our plugs. Only until we get our own.”

“Oh… Ah.. Thank you!” Vitoria bowed slightly to the man who laughed, and said it was not a bother.

He brought the girls to the elevator then, and instructed them to go to the 4th floor, where they would be staying in flat 2B. Lori and Victoria both bowed again, thanking the man for his help once more, before they ascended, and finally, after hours, and hours of transit, were home. The fourth floor, Victoria noted, had carpeted walls, unlike the tile that was in the lobby. She wondered why that was. It bothered her for some reason, but then she realized: Carpet was expensive and terribly inconvenient to maintain in Japan, for most people. Did that mean it was some sort of status symbol? She wasn’t sure. Maybe it was for soundproofing? “Hey Lori… Do you think--”

“Dude, did they soundproof these walls?”

“That’s exactly what I was wondering! I have no idea!”

The shorter of the two shrugged, and located their door. The number and letter were screwed on, shiny, and gold. “The real question is,” Lori slid the key into the handle of the door. “Did the movers bring over what little we sent? Or do we need to contact someone?”

When the door opened, and Victoria hit the lightswitch, they both sighed with relief. There were several boxes, neatly stacked in the center of the living room. The kitchen was tiny, and on the immediate left. There was a small closet on the right, and there were steps, they realized, to get into the main room beyond that entryway. The floor plan was very open, which Lori immediately took a liking to, but Victoria could have cared less. She was itching to charge her computer, and her DS. But also, to find the bathroom. Lori was running from room to room with excitement, talking about drapes, and needing to hire people, and gardening-- Victoria immediately knew she was going to be banned from the balcony once she realized the large window was in fact doors, and then, she heard it. The dreaded call of having discovered something before your competitor, as Lori called “Dibs!” at the top of her lungs from the room on the far right of the living area.

“Did you find the--”

“Master bedroom! You Snooze, you lose!” Lori pulled down her eyelid, and stuck her tongue out at Victoria.

“I just gotta pee man!” Vikki made for Lori like she was going to tackle the girl to the ground, but in a flurry of curls, and fabulous nails, the shorter girl spread in the doorway, ad held on like her life depended on it.

“Oh no! I know you! You can go find the public bathroom, before I let you defile my sanctuary!”

Victoria tried to use her height against Lori, but it did nothing. Lori had siblings after all. Four of them. So she’d had years of improvised, hand to hand combat, and various other physical skills that Vikki hd neglected to develop over the years. Granted, it was because she was always holed up in her room, playing one game or another.

“Please?!”

“No!”

“PLEASE?!”

“NO! Bitch, it’s right there! Right next to your room! I mean, DAMN!”

Victoria growled and stomped her way into the bathroom. And then returned, arms crossed, and looking unamused. “What kind of bathroom doesn’t have toilet paper in it? What the hell is this contraption?!”

“What?” Lori looked confused. She wandered into the bathroom, only for Victoria to run past her, and dive into the master bathroom.

“You-- Ugh!” Lori looked back and the toilet and had to do a double take. “W-What the fuck? What is this thing?”

There were so many buttons! Curious, she pressed one of the buttons, only to let out a scream when she heard water hit the lid, and for a moment, she was thankful she had left it closed.

“Vikki!”

It was a couple of minutes before Victoria actually joined Lori again to investigate. “Sooo… What is this thing?”

“I… Think it’s a fancy toilet? I know I’ve heard of them before, I just can’t remember what it’s called,” she admitted.

“Huh… Google it? Like, how do we use it?”

“Really Vikki? I don’t know, the tiny pictures aren’t quite clue enough…” she pointed to the pictures on the buttons, which left Victoria making a soft “Oh,” as she studied them.

“I think we’re ah.. Just gonna have to learn through trial and error.”

“Says the girl who has a normal toilet, that uses fucking toilet paper-- can.. Can we use that in this toilet? Will it let us use toilet paper?” Victoria looked horrified by the idea of not using what she was used to.

“‘Google it,’” Lori parroted with a devilish smile, before dashing back to her room and diving onto her floor to make carpet angels. “The carpeting is all newly cleaned and fluffy! Ugh!” She rolled onto her stomach and folded her arms like a pillow. “I could sleep on this!”

“So, does that mean I can take your bed then, or--”

“What?! No! We have to buy your bed tomorrow though. Sorry Vikki…”

“You’re fine, you’re fine. It just sucks, because I always end up on the floor anyway, and something tells me that normal Japanese people don’t have to worry about injuring themselves in their sleep by falling out of bed in the night.” The redhead shrugged.

“You could always sleep on one of those beds that they fold and put away? The mats?”

Victoria paused, and it was then obvious to Lori that her friend had not thought of that. “Did you seriously not--”

“Shhh! I know I’m dumb, okay?” The two laughed. “Maybe, though… Maybe. I have to price things out. Allowance and all that.”

“Yeah… Let me know if you want any help though, okay? I mean, my dad said he would give us some extra money so we could have some comforts from home while we’re here--”

“No, he gave YOU more money for that.”

“Still…”

“I mean, I’m not about to start taking it personally. I just want my space to be… Homey, I guess.”

“I mean, that’s fair.”

“Speaking of money, and fair… How are we getting to school in two days? Don’t we have school like… Monday through Saturday now?”

Lori sighed heavily. “Yeah… About that… I was gonna get a driver maybe? Or a maid that’s willing to do both jobs?”

Victoria nodded slowly. She didn’t realize her father was sending over that much, that Lori could afford such a luxury. “Okay, okay… Oh! And--”

“Don’t worry! I’ve got your tuition and all that covered… But, ah… Not gonna lie, you might not like the uniforms. I mean, I think it will look great on me, personally! But that’s ah… Yeah.”

“Oh god… Please don’t tell me it’s pink or yellow.. Please! PLEASE!” she begged, suddenly feeling the urgent need to never leave the house, ever.

“Well….”

“No! Oh God no! It’s pink, isn’t it!?”

“No, geeze! It’s yellow! But! It has a collar! A white one! And cuffs! And white stockings! It’s really not that bad! Maybe that small separation will look good on you? I mean, yellow doesnt look THAT bad on you--”

“Lori, yellow makes my freckles look like they are blending together to make me look sick or bruised as all hell! Are you kidding? Like, what kind of yellow is it? You know color theory!”

“Ummm… Kind of between a banana taffy, and lemon peel?”

There was another tense pause between them, before Victoria started tugging on her short hair, and fretting over it further. “I’m gonna look fuckin terrible! I don’t even know what the hell I’m gonna do about it!”

“I mean, it won’t be that bad! What if we dyed your hair--?”

“Do you really think I’ll have to resort to that? Didn’t I already send in a photo for my ID? It won’t at all match my ID’s! None of them!”

Lori clapped her hands on Victoria’s shoulders with rough suddenness that made the girl jump. “Chill. We’ll figure it out, okay? No need to panic, no need to stress, yeah?”

Victoria looked like she might cry, but she nodded. She wasn’t always the best when it came to beauty and fashion-- that much, she admitted. But she did care about her appearance, and she didn’t want to look ugly on her first day to class. They already had mail on top of their boxes, and they looked soft, so it must have been their uniforms. It would be too late to change her mind now, if she wanted to switch uniforms-- if she was even allowed to switch uniforms.

“Do you really think it might be okay?” Victoria was staring at the packages now.

Lori pursed her lips for a moment. She didn’t want to get Vikki’s hopes up in case it really was that bad. She knew for a fact that the girl struggled with happy, warm colors, but yellow and pink were her sworn enemies, not that Lori could blame Victoria. Having bright red hair came at the price of wearing any foundation based makeups, and ever being able to enjoy the colors of summer. “Why don’t we deal with it tomorrow. For now, help me with my stuff while your game charges, and then we go shopping tomorrow for your actual furniture, ‘kay?”

Victoria sighed, before giving her friend a nod. “Okay. But I get to use the hammer!”

“Fine! Geeze! You’re spoiled, you know that?”

The redhead shook her head, and grabbed one of the smaller boxes. “I am not! I mean, YOU spoil me, but I’m not a spoiled brat like SOME people!”

“Hey are you calling ME of all people spoiled right now? I will BEAT you!”

Lori followed Victoria into her room and threw one of the uniform packages at her in place of a pillow, both of the girls laughing.

That night, Victoria slept soundly in bed with Lori, until she rolled out. By morning, when Lori had woken up, she didn’t even bother to wake her friend, knowing they still had too much work to do, and how stressed Victoria would probably get about it once she realized the work ahead.

Lori enjoyed the silence of morning for a bit making herself some coffee, and reading the few scraps of mail that had been forwarded to her involving competitions and placements, up and coming composers in the community, and so on. None of it interested her though. She was more interested in the instruments catalogue that Victoria had requested be forwarded, and was much happier skimming through that until nearly noon, when the redhead had actually gotten up from the floor, and come stumbling out of the room, hair and pajamas a mess like she’d been hit by a truck. “You okay?”

“Coffee.”

“Is that a  ‘yes,’ or a ‘no’?”

“Coffee…” she repeated, only for Lori to shake her head, and point to the breakfast bar, where a plain mug had been set out hours ago. The coffee was long since cold, but Victoria drank it like it was the first drink of water she’d had, her entire life.

“So… Now you’re good? Or do you need a minute to let that java hit you?”

Victoria shook her head and turned to Lori, looking somewhat more lively now that she’d had her bitter juice for the day. “We have to go shopping and all that crap today, right?” Lori nodded. “And I don’t have a choice.” Lori shook her head. “Because otherwise I end up with stuff I don’t like or want.”

“Exactly! Now you’re getting it darling!”

Victoria gave Lori a sharp look again. “Fine, fine. You’ll only be forced to get the necessities today. Better?”

“Kay, THAT I can work with!”

“But you have to also get toiletries--”

“Why?!”

“Because I don’t wanna smell your nasty ass morning breath! Now get dressed and let’s go!”

“Fine! Ugh!”

Victoria quickly sifted through the only box in her room, and pulled out a pair of tight jeans, and two tank tops to layer. Once dressed, and joining Lori back in the living area, she pouted upon realizing Lori had changed into an even trendier outfit, instead of sticking with her more casual look from before. “Why you gotta do this to me? Now I feel pressured to go wear something that’s actually attractive or something, like I’m trying to get attention or something--”

“Nonsense. If you go change now, we’ll never get to go, so let’s just go!”

Victoria couldn’t even argue that point. Instead, she gave in and followed Lori out the door, and down the road.

By the end of the day, they were putting together some low-to-the-floor bedside furniture, and unpacking Victoria’s futon. She was excited to find they had plain, and simple patterns, and in colors she liked, but at the same time, she still worried if it would be good for her back. Part of her though it might actually be bad, but Lori talked her into it easily enough to convince her that matching tables and decorations were also worth it.

Now, Victoria had a room. Albeit a rather plain one.

“I’m so proud of you! You even got toothpaste, deodorant, AND shampoo!”

“Oh hush!” Victoria threw a pillow at Lori, which was promptly caught and thrown back with double to force.

“Ow! Fuck!”

“Don’t be a brat! Now. Let’s deal with the uniforms then?” Lori was trying to approach the topic gently.

Victoria seemed to close up a bit in response, but she was willing enough to give a nod, and so, Lori had the displeasure of zipping her friend into the garment.

“Well… It’s… I can’t say it’s good. I can’t even pretend. Not even a little, I’m so sorry Vikki…”

The redhead merely sighed, disrobed, and walked into the bathroom to shower, no words shared in response.

Lori simply sighed.

\-----

Later, Lori invaded Victoria’s room, and in an attempt to cure her of the world’s most pathetic pouting, she forced the ginger to watch episode after endless episode of some mindless cartoon about children obsessed with swindling others out of quarters for candy. By the end of it, Lori was the one laughing, but in her defence, Victoria was hyper analysing the plot of the entire series, instead of viewing the show as an anthology.

The girl was ranting and raving about plot holes, and the lack of adults in the show, until she was spent, and falling asleep to what felt like the ten millionth episode, her more or less adoptive sister tucking her in as she grumbled and complained about all manner of thing.

Finally, as Lori was packing up the computer and putting it away, Vikki spoke a full and meaningful sentence. More like, question. She asked, quitely, weakly. If she really had to go to school the next day, and Lori was only able to offer a comforting pat on the head.

“Sorry Vikki, but them’s the rules. We have to do good, and go to school and all that, make mom and dad proud, you know?” She held her breath, hoping Victoria understood whose parents she was referring to.

“You always do so good, Lori… You’ll make them happy, no matter what…” The response was mumbled, but coherent.

“Thanks Vik. You sleep now, okay?”

Lori left her sleepy friend and sighed, wandering back to her own room. She sat cross-legged on the bed, brows furrowed as she scrolled through several blogs, looking for tutorials on various art projects she might have more of an interest in later, before Finally deciding it was time to get ready for bed, and prepare for tomorrow. Still, she found herself scrolling, until it was nearly midnight.

She glanced at her digital clock and nearly deadpanned when she realized that it was so late! She had plenty of time, she realized, to do her hair, but whether or not she would get sleep was questionable, as far as she was concerned.

Pulling open a drawer in her headboard, Lori got to work parting and moisturizing her hair, doing her best to focus while listening to some American scream about video games on YouTube in the background.


End file.
